Defining Collaboration – again.

Jim Lundy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:11:38 +0000

Collaboration is a hot topic these days and it is a top priority, according to Gartner’s recent survey of CIOs where Collaboration technologies ranked number 5 on the priority list. The problem is that some people get confused when the word collaboration is used. Here is Gartner’s definition of Collaboration from a research note that Tom Austin and Betsy Burton wrote a few years back:

Collaboration: work with others on a nonroutine cognitive task — that is, working together.

In a related research note, Tom Austin defined the four elements of Collaboration: Segment Collaboration into its Four Main Constituents for Maximum Return. The elements are:

Communication
Coordination
Communities
Social Interaction Facilitation

In 2009, everyone says they offer collaboration technologies, but not everyone defines collaboration or communication the same way. It used to be a simple world when phones were separate from computers. That is not the case in 2009 and that is where part of the problem is. Knowing how you want to collaborate and what technologies you want to use will keep you pointed in the right direction.

Jim Lundy » Collaboration

Defining Collaboration – again.